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The Bombing of Hiroshima, Japan
Following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbour, the United States launched an attack on Japan. During the Second World War, the United States had been working on a secret operation called The Manhattan Project. This operation involved many world-renouned scientists who all came together to develop the world's first atomic bomb. Once the United States saw that the war needed to end, they put the operation to action and dropped two atomic bombs on Japan. The bombs were nicknmaed Little Boy and Fat Man. -
Gouzenko Affair
The Gouzenko Affair was an event begining in ealry September, 1945, when Igor Gouzenko, a Russian chiper (decrypting clerk), defected to Canada, with the hopes of giving the Canadain government some very important information. Igor arrived in Canada at the Russian Embassy in Ottawa, Ontario. Once there he told his story, which was that Russia had Canadain sleeper spies committing espionage. His evidence, which he brought with him in many printed documents, helped to convict 10 Canadian spies. -
The Formation of the United Nations
The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization that was created with the sole purpose of promoting international cooperation. At the end of the First World War, the League of Nations was created to prevent any future conclict, though this idea failed quite quickly. The United Nations is essentially the replacemnet of the League of Nations, set up with the same purpose. Today the United Nations has 193 member statses, including Canada and the United States. -
The Formation of NATO
NATO, which stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is a military alliance between 28 states, including Canada and the United States. The alliance was based on the North Atlantic Treaty, which stated that if any of the countries were to be attacked by an external country, than the states of NATO would provide military support. Likewise, in the event of a war, if an external country declares war to any of the 28 NATO states, than the external country is also declaring war on NATO. -
Korean War
The Korean War was a war mainly between North Korea and South Korea, though the United States fought for the South and China for the North, as the allied powers were lead by the United Nations. The war seemingly stemmed from the divison of Korea into North and South Korea, which took place shortly after the Second World War. Tensions around the globe from the Cold War were also a contributing factor to the Korean War. There is now a DMZ seperating North and South Korea. -
The Formation of the Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was a military alliance, that included the states of central and eastern Europe. The pact was comprised of all communist countries, therefore it was the mere rival of NATO. The pact worked the same way the the NATO alliance did, meaning that the sole purpose was mutual defense. For example, if an external country attacks or declares war on a Warsaw Pact state, than that external country will be attacked or declared war on by all the Warsaw Pact States. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a war, which in the least of terms, was a war between communists and anti-communists, took place during the Cold War. The war was between the Northern part of Vietnam who favored communism and wanted to see it spread throughout Asia and the southern part of Vietnam and its ally the United States, who wanted to prevent the spread of communism. -
The Seuz Crisis
The Seuz Crisis was the invasion of Egypt by Israel, France, and Britain to remove Egyptian Gamal Abdel Nassar from power. The United States and United Nations strongly warned the countries not to invade, though their concerns were ignored. However, after a little over a week, The United States, United Nations, and Soviet Union forced the invaders to withdraw their forces from the area and discontinue the invasion. -
The Formation of NORAD
The North American Aerospace Defence Command, or NORAD, is an organizaton between Canada and the United States that provides aerospace warning and defence for North American air space. -
The Cancellation of the Avro Arrow
The Avro Arrow CF-105 was an aircraft developed by Canadian aircraft manufacturer A.V. Roe Canada. The aircraft was said to be the jewel of Canada, as at the time, it was the cutting edge of aircraft technology. The plane could travel three times the speed of sound at 60,000 feet. However, much to the public's dismay, production of the plane was mysteriously and abrubtly stopped. Canadian Prime Minister at the time, John Diefenbaker claimed that the hault was due to cost issues. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union over missiles belonging to the Soviet Union that deployed in Cuba. The Soviet Union and Cuba came to an agreement that sent Soviet missiles to Cuba in the hopes to deter an attacks on Cuba. The United States however, did not like this and ordered the missile transfer to cease, and all missiles already in the country to be dismantled. An agreement was reached and the missiles were sent back to the USSR. -
SALT Treaty
The SALT Treaty was an agreement between the Soviet Union and the United States that, for the first time in the Cold War, set a limit on the number of missiles in their arsenals. There were two talks involved before an agreement was reached, SALT i and SALT ii. The first talk led to a limiation on anti-ballisitc missiles, while the second talk led to the curtail of nuclear weapons productions, though SALT ii was not agreed upon until 1979. -
The Strategic Defense Initiative
The Strategic Defense Initiative is a program that was initiated by United States President Ronald-Reagan. The program was created to develop anit-ballistic missile systems, to help prevent any missile attacks from other countries. The Soviet Union was a specific country that was under suspicion regarding possible attacks on other countries. -
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
In November of 1989, the Cold War began to spread acorss eastern Europe. On the 9th of November, a spokesman for the Communist Party, said that there would be a change in relations with the west. At midnight of that day, it was legal for citizens of the Germany Democratic Republic to cross the boarder. Citizens began approaching the wall, drinking beer, shouting, and celebrating. Eventually they begna pushing against the walls and flooding through the parts they could get down. -
The Breakup of the Soviet Union
The Breakup of the Soviet Union was one of the largest politcal events in the world's history. The United States was particularly pleased to see its long-time enemy fall to its knees. There are many reasons for the dissolution of the union, however the main reasons involved the public's opinions, especially the lack of trust in a communisitc country anymore. Once the Soviet Union fell, the world seemed to regain a political and economic balance. This event also marked the end of the Cold War.
